I went to a public state school for undergrad and a private Ivy for grad school. While there are diverse socioeconomic backgrounds at the latter, people with similar backgrounds as myself are definitely far and few between. The standards of living is far removed from the penny-scrounging dollar-menu-eating existence that I knew.

I'm still taken aback by the disparity in leisure activities; it seems like a lot of people here escape to some international Instagrammable getaway for a weeklong academic break, whereas back home everyone would be fine just hunkering down or maybe visiting their parents for a weekend.